Latest fund size
$37.5M
Announced
June 26, 2026
Global HQ
Romania
Members only
Check size
$500K-$2M
Members only
Stage focus
Pre-Seed, Seed
Members only
Regions of investment
Europe
Members only
Nucleo Ventures is a Cluj-Napoca, Romania-based early-stage venture fund launched in June 2026, operating as the rebranded successor to Fortech Ventures, the investment arm of Fortech, one of Romania's largest software development companies. The rebrand marks the fund's transition to full institutional independence, anchored by a new $37.5M fund developed in partnership with Romania's North-West Regional Development Agency. Through its predecessor vehicle, the team backed 18 tech startups with $6.6M invested, a reported 29% IRR, and a current portfolio fair value of $9.5M.
Members only
Names, roles, emails and LinkedIn profiles for the team, plus the fund's website.
Nucleo backs early-stage teams combining corporate experience, engineering excellence, and deep market insight to build product-led companies disrupting traditional industries in Romania and CEE.
Core sectors include health (digital adoption, clinical workflow, diagnostics, and health data infrastructure), manufacturing (industrial software, factory optimization, visual CPQ, and Industry 4.0 workflows), energy (software for resilient and sustainable energy infrastructure), finance (core fintech, payments, and banking infrastructure), and defense (dual-use software, cyber-resilience, and secure infrastructure).
The fund targets companies with technical moats and clear commercial urgency, globally relevant businesses built from Romania and CEE.
Members only
What the fund looks for in founders and which sectors it backs.
Nucleo Ventures Fund I targets $37.5M and has been launched with a $25.9M cornerstone commitment from the North-West Regional Development Agency (ADR Nord-Vest), co-financed through the EU's Regional Program Nord-Vest 2021-2027. Additional private capital from the management team and private investors brings the total toward target.
The fund plans to back 46 startups over four years, primarily in Romania's North-West Region (Cluj, Bihor, Maramureș, Satu Mare, Bistrița-Năsăud, and Sălaj), with scope to attract founders from elsewhere in Romania and CEE using the region as a base.
A separate $1.9M grant facility supports pre-seed idea and technology validation.
Members only
Fund size, LPs and track record.
Leadership
Valentin Filip is Managing Partner, who led investment activity through the predecessor Fortech Investments vehicle and continues in the same role at Nucleo Ventures.
Investment Strategy
Nucleo invests at pre-seed and seed stage, focusing on founders with domain expertise and technical depth emerging from corporate environments, engineering teams, and complex enterprise settings.
Post-investment support spans market validation, customer access, hiring, follow-on financing, and strategic exit preparation.
The firm uses proprietary AI-powered tools for deal screening (Venture Explorer), portfolio monitoring (Vestberry and CRM), and founder introductions (FounderConnect).
It is building a regional collaboration network with organizations including Rubik Hub, Make IT in Oradea, and LevelUP to support startup sourcing and acceleration across the region.
Members only
Leadership, investment strategy, notable investments and exits.
